Alcohol is involved in about 40% of all fatal car accidents. Anyone who has their driver's license or at least took driving school should know this, so why so many people still drinking and driving?
More high school teenagers than parents would suspect are drinking and then driving. It disgusts me to watch as my fellow high school seniors sit through a horrifying D.A.R.E. assembly, knowing that they are still going to go out and party...which means drinking and driving. Many people are under the impression that they are above the law. When they see a movie about someone who has died or been paralyzed as a result of an accident involving alcohol they think, "Yeah, that's sad; but it's just not going to happen to me." I feel that this attitude is not only obviously stupid, but very selfish. If someone is drinking and driving and they hit another car it is very likely that they could kill someone. Often times people who drink and drive don't die, but kill other people. When someone dies, whether it's a parent, offspring, sibling, friend, whatever, it can devastate the lives of their loved ones. I can't believe that people who drink and drive and selfish enough to actually not care that they might kill someone's mom or best friend just because they wanted to have fun at a party. As humans, we all make mistakes, but why make yours that you killed someone because of drinking and driving?
So what do I think we should do? (because obviously D.A.R.E. assemblies are not getting to all of the right people).
Lie.
I think we should lie to kids who others know drink and drive...
Tell them that one of their loved ones died; their mom, their little brother, their best friend, whoever. And tell them it was because of a drunk driver (possibly that the loved one was the drunk driver).
I know it sounds bad, but wouldn't it be better if someone momentarily thought that their loved one died, had a revelation about drinking and driving than if we did nothing and they actually killed someone?
Drinking and driving is not going to lessen unless people get a real slap in the face. And I think lying would be the best way to do it.
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